「I wanted to die… I had to die! I was supposed to die for everyone’s sake! I couldn’t allow this curse to spread into the world!」
“I don’t want to destroy the world. I accepted death because it was the only way. I was fine with that… With ending here, carrying this curse, that was the plan, but…”
“Ha, heh… huh? Huh? What… does this mean I can’t die…? Everyone… everyone’s death marks are gone… Ha, haha… I’m going to starve again. I’ll have to suck blood again. I’ll have to kill again… I’m being consumed by the curse once more.”
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
The cave shakes.
“Whoa—such intense magic power.”
Usually, in otherworldly stories, when you save a girl’s life, isn’t it supposed to get all bittersweet from here?
Hmm, maybe this is just because I’m a mob character. What a harsh world.
“Was it you…? Did you do this? Why…?”
An intense killing intent.
Hmm, if this were the usual mob role, I’d probably be shaking in my boots right about now…
“But what I want to do is play the villain.”
I’ve got this old man mask on, so no need to worry about being recognized. Might as well go all out. This is the ideal villain role-play, after all.
“Answer me! Traveler! Why did you let us live?! I’m asking if this was just a reckless act, knowing full well what we resolved to do!!”
“Haha… Hey, please, Traveler, why? Why did you save us? Who told you to… Hey!!”
“Hah, heh, because of you… Because of you, I… I will… once again… become a monster…”
Their magical power trembles. Their hair stands on end. Golden eyes glisten.
The fury of these inhuman beings shakes the world.
“How should I know?”
“Huh?”
Ah, I see now. These guys. They must have been in some sort of ‘I want to die’ mood.
I guess all three of them had their own reasons. Not that I care.
Hmm, in this kind of scenario, I think the line a villain—especially a sorcerer type—would say is this:
“Your circumstances mean nothing to me. Why should I, of all people, care about the wishes of insignificant beings like you, whether you want to live or die?”
Wait… these villain lines are rolling off the tongue easier than I expected.
《Player, the effect of the old man mask you’re wearing has activated. Due to the “Old Man’s Curse,” all dialogue choices you make will lead to discord. Additionally, due to your sorcerer class, your friendliness checks with others are highly likely to fail.》
It’s a cursed item! The dialogue options are changing… Well, there was something like this in Life Field too, where negative effects would come into play…
I just hope the mask doesn’t end up taking over my mind or something. Then again, that might be kind of villainous, too.
“W-What… What did you just say?”
Uh oh. The beautiful, long-haired white-haired girl is making a face no beautiful girl should make.
I should probably handle this gently—
“Didn’t you hear me? I don’t care about your circumstances. I do what I want. But, if I were to humor your idiotic question… It was by chance. I just happened to try killing you, but you all revived on your own. That’s it.”
Okay, okay, I’m sticking to the truth while also maintaining communication.
I might actually be pretty good at this socializing thing.
Haha. Back in Life Field, I was even a guild master, after all!
Though now that I think of it, all the members seemed to have disappeared at some point.
Where did they go, my guild members? “Snowman,” “Apocalypse King †nana†,” “Longinus Ishii”…
Ah, well.
In Life Field, how would this normally play out? Would we already be heading into battle?
“By chance…? By chance, you say? What do you think our resolve was for?”
“I don’t know. Nor do I care. Whether you’re alive or dead means nothing to me.”
Did I misphrase that? I was trying to say something more like… “Since living and dying are basically the same, why not just live?” or something.
“…Ha ha… ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
“Ku, ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku!”
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
The ground shakes.
Their white, red, and black hair sways.
“We are the mortals’ end.”
“My name is Conquest.”
“My name is War.”
“My name is Famine.”
“We are three of the seven prophesied ends of the world.”
Ah, this sounds familiar. Seven, huh? That reminds me, the large Life Field update has about seven parts too.
Though there are still more than fifty planned in total.
“Look upon us, mortal. Witness the calamity that none can stand against.”
My skin tingles.
If I let my guard down, my knees might buckle under the pressure. These guys are strong.
—But they’re not my enemy.
《Record connection. Analyzing enemy data… Analysis complete.》
《The Seven Prophecies of the End. Conquest, War, Famine.》
《Threat level: APOCALYPSE-class.》
“《…Be cautious with your responses, player. They are dangerous.》”
The navigator’s voice is trembling. This is the first time this has happened.
Their hair sways, and magic surges from them. Their golden eyes gleam.
Before I knew it, they were clad in armor.
A white armor with a crown.
A red armor with a massive sword.
A black armor with a set of scales.
—Hey, hey, what’s this?
Some kind of transformation ability…?
That’s kind of unfair, isn’t it?
“To the mortal who took death from us…”
“This is our true form—three of the seven ends.”
“We are the servants of the apocalypse, who shall end the world.”
Wow, they even grew wings…?
They look like some kind of ominous angels, no, more like devils.
Hey, hey, hey, could it be?
This appearance and ability…
“《Player… this is too dangerous. Retreat immediately. We cannot afford to lose you here, player.》”
I ignore the navigator’s voice.
Could these three be…?
The girl in the white armor murmurs softly.
“I didn’t want to show this form… Ah, I didn’t want to end up like this.”
“I don’t want to end the world… But it’s going to end, I’m going to end it.”
“Haha… I didn’t want to become something like this.”
Crack, crack.
Wings burst from their armor’s backs.
They shed tears of blood, crying in agony.
“Cursed… O great curse of domination that envelops my body… please, die with me…”
“Cursed war that nests in my soul. You have no purpose. I am still me…!”
“Cursed famine, rooted in my heart. Just starve… starve and end by consuming only me…”
The three of them clutch their heads in pain.
Are you serious? These girls…
Are they doing this for real?
Could it be that this is…?
The dark, villainous event I used to dream about, during my nightly ten-minute villain roleplays before bed, ever since I came to this world?
“「We wanted to die! We had to die!!」”
They struggle and suffer, still resisting the great power overwhelming them!
“「We had to end this curse right here!!!」”
It’s an edgy, tragic villain event!!
They probably have some sad backstories, too!
It’s refined, dignified, and deeply meaningful!
Oh, this is good!
These girls are great!
“Keheh…”
Oh no. I got too excited and let out a weird laugh.
“「…Did you just laugh?」”
Their burning golden eyes distort into an unnatural shape.
“《Player… run! Their level is ranked at LV999…! The highest point in this world!! They’re beings who could reach even the throne of God… we can’t win!》”
Suddenly, an overwhelming pressure raises the hair on my skin.
“Why, why do you laugh… this soul… a transmigrant, are you? Does a pawn of the gods mock us?”
The red-haired knight twists her body and reaches out toward me.
A chilling sensation creeps through my cells. This is intense.
“Ah, heh… Once again, I return to the cycle, starving, taking, killing and being killed, over and over again… Death was my only solace, and yet…”
The black-haired knight sheds tears of blood as she looks at me.
Her eyes alternate between glowing like gold and red… Nice, red eyes. Just that makes them seem like a villain.
“—Answer me, mortal. Why did you save us… why did you take away the chance to end this curse… why, why?”
The white-haired beauty also glares at me with crazed, swirling eyes.
Hah, I’m impressed.
Who would’ve thought there were villain role-playing masters at the same level of perfection as me?
“《Are… are you listening? Player?》”
“Keheheh, Hah—”
“「You laughed again…」”
“Oh, sorry, sorry. You’re so ridiculous. To claim you can destroy the world with that level of power.”
“《Player? Player? No way? No way?》”
I ignore the navigator’s tearful voice.
Sorry about that.
“…Such power, you say?”
“Yeah, that level of strength, that level of burden, and you choose death because you fear it? The fact that you’re serious makes it all the more pathetic.”
I respond to the white-haired knight.
Her hair sways violently in reaction to my words.
“…Mortal, because of you, we can no longer even die. We can no longer escape this cursed fate, this life. The world will end because of us.”
“How merciful, indeed. But, red-haired knight, it’s also incredibly arrogant, don’t you think?”
“Am I… arrogant…?”
“Yeah. Well, not just you. The white knight, the black knight—all of you. Ignorance reaching its peak.”
“《Um, Player, seriously, can you please stop? You’re hearing me, right?》”
Navigator, just watch.
These three are tragic, fallen villainous final bosses, tormented by their own power.
They’re amazing.
Without a doubt, they’re the best trio I’ve met since coming to this world.
So, out of respect…
I have to give it my all!
“Heheh… If you want to die but can’t, well, that’s just fine, isn’t it?”
The black knight slumps forward.
“Ah, ah, Famine, no! No! We promised, didn’t we, the three of us! That we wouldn’t lose to this fate! That we would die as humans!”
“…Domination, sorry… My consciousness is fading… haha. I want to fight… kill, destroy…”
The red knight clutches her head and looks down.
“I’m starving… It’s not enough… I want more, more.”
“Take, kill, conquer, fight, ah… more war…”
“Ah… no, I don’t want to… I want to remain myself! I want to die, I don’t want to become—domination, I don’t want this… no… no, no, no, I don’t want it!”
Crack, crack, crack.
Their forms begin to change.
Their knightly armor melts into ragged cloaks.
Their lower bodies transform into something resembling horses.
Skeletal masks cling to their faces.
“Ho, is that your true form?”
“I am Domination.”
“I am War.”
“I am Famine.”
The three knights of the apocalypse.
“「We are the heralds of the apocalypse, who shall end the world.」”
The world always seems to be longing for its end.
“Don’t worry. You will not be the ones to destroy it.”
Time to be the villain.
The theme this time is a dignified, aesthetic villain.
To surpass these three, who are tragic, high-class villains driven by their own power.
How will I do that? Simple.
“I will crush you with raw power.”
“《No, Player, this is impossible… What… what is this? Your stats… they’re changing…》”
—This is a perfect trial run. Hmm. No need to open the Heavenly Rock Cave yet.
Oh? My body’s starting to feel warm.
“Ah… I am Domination… no, I am… haha, what? My name… I forgot, I forgot… Haha… run… Traveler, please, this curse… let me end it here.”
Looks like that white-haired one still has a bit of rationality left.
A single tear rolls down from the dark, hollow eye sockets of her skull.
Nice.
Your elegant tragedy—I’ll crush it completely.
“Good. Show me everything you’ve got. Learn the vastness of this world. And then—”
—Unleashing the First Gate of Final Battle Technique: Yawata’s No Man’s Land.
My mouth moves on its own.
My throat trembles, and my tongue dances.
“—Let me teach you what true curses are.”
“《Some of your status debuffs have been lifted.》”
